Dömötör: Govt Aims to Maintain Hungary’s Security

MTI-Hungary Today 2019.01.01.

The Hungarian government’s main aim in 2019 is to maintain a strengthening and thriving Hungary that retains its security, a Cabinet Office official said on Monday.

The government is working for a country in which work is valued, families with children are supported, and in which all social groups can take steps forward, Csaba Dömötör, the parliamentary state secretary of the cabinet office, told a press conference.

Hungary is starting the new year with a growing economy, and annual growth in 2019 is expected to be around 5 percent thanks to government measures, he added.

He noted that tax breaks for families with two children will increase to 40,000 forints per month. In December, the home-creation scheme also expanded with more credit available, he added.

Dömötör also referred to a new deal based on an agreement between the employers and employees to hike the basic minimum wage to 149,000 forints and that of skilled workers to 195,000 forints next year. The 8 percent increase will be followed by the same rate of increase in 2020, he added.

The government is also helping businesses to raise wages by further cutting employer tax burdens, he said.

Dömötör said an important change in the area of social policy is that home caregivers of severely disabled children or children suffering from a debilitating illness will be eligible to receive 100,000 forints per month. From January, pay for home caregivers will rise by 15 percent, while by 2022 it will have risen by 30 percent.

He also noted a growth in pensions of 2.7 percent and higher wages for nurses among other boons for public sector employees.

Referring to recent changes in the labour code that has sparked protests, he said overtime will be paid monthly and any extra work undertaken would be voluntary.